This was Hope's favorite place last year.

Nature has given dogs a desire for dens.  You can see this if they like to hide behind your couch, under a table, or beneath blankets if they do not have crates.

Crate training promotes strong feelings among many people. Crates are not inhumane as long as the dog does not spend the vast majority of its day in one.

We have had dogs love their crates. We crate trained our first puppy, a West Highland white terrier named Duffy. He was a busy little fellow, but when he wanted a rest he would go into his crate and demand its door be shut.

When we got Hope, she didn’t want to leave her crate—not surprising since she that was all she knew after five years in an Amish puppy mill. There were times I would have to take the top off the crate, lift her out, and then close up the crate to keep her out of it. For the past four months she hasn’t gone in it, and that’s fine with us. Jake doesn’t care for crates, and Windy prefers to dine in one.

So, if you have a puppy or a new dog you might want to try crate training. Older dogs can be crate trained but it will take some time. And a dog’s den is nowhere near like creating a man cave with wide screen TV and leather furniture.